PhD GPA/GRE

[JaneOakmede]

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I'm currently in an MPH program and planning on applying for PhDs next fall. My concern is mainly with my analytic writing score on the GRE, which was in the 38th percentile. My quant is 86th and my verbal is 95th. I am in my first semester of the MPH program and got one A- in the biostats lab (the rest of my grades were As including the lecture portion of bisostats). I am overly worried about my grades because of the AWA score. Should I be concerned about getting A- grades? Secondly, should I retake the GRE because of the AWA score? Thanks!

 

[Pudu2009]

I'm not an expert in applying to PhD programs (first year MPH student in two-year program), but I'm pretty sure one A- out of a sea of A's isn't going to hurt you. If my friend could get into med school with a C and a few B's on her transcript, I'm sure you'll be fine for a PhD. From reading this forum, it would seem that having a strong research background in the field you are planning to study is vital for admissions. I'm not sure how PhD programs view the AW score, but I'm sure if you could get into a good MPH program with that score, it should not be an issue. Is it possible to send a stellar writing sample with your application to offset it?